


dreams of stars

by Darth Occlus (NotSummer)



Series: deliverance [2]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Clones, Dreams, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hopeful Ending, Introspection, Kamino, Names, Pilots, Pre-Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, Pre-Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Some Humor, of a sort, simulations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-31 13:30:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15120413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotSummer/pseuds/Darth%20Occlus
Summary: 4 years before Geonosis, clone cadets secretly choose their names, even if they can't choose their futures.





	dreams of stars

5597 found freedom in two things: slicing and flying. He was not supposed to do either, of course. They had a slicer.

5601 was their slicer, who argued he should be called Hack, because civilians got names, and Kaminoans got names, and computers got numbers. Hack had taken over slicing and engineering for their squad, because someone had to and he was better than 5597.

5597 had yet to admit this out loud. 5597 had no plans to ever admit this out loud.

Still, both of them were brothers, and Hack was never going to tell 5597 he couldn’t do something, so they’d hide in one of their bunks with a stolen datapad and laugh and learn. Both of them found solace in their little rebellion against their tightly regulated lives.

But even more than solace, they found knowledge. Slowly, at first, they started testing the Kaminoan mainframes. They were exceedingly careful: everyone knew those who upset the Kaminoans might disappear. Hack and 5597 had no plans for rebellion, no plans to speak out: they were seeking something a little different.

Astra Squad had the luck of being in the infantry barracks closest to the flight sims. Physical cockpits with inertial generators and hologram screens, they were the closest anyone on the ground could get to flying. And flying was something 5597 loved.

He hadn’t passed the initial testing for pilots, and so he was stuck on the ground, but each night the pods were empty, Astra Squad snuck into the flight sims. When they were littler, all of them could fit into a pod, but now only three of them could fit, and it was still tight.

Tonight, 5597 had a specific sim in mind. Hack and 5600 had already peeled off to the combat sims. 5600 wanted to practice sniping again. Sniping was the only time 5600 wasn’t nervous. Everytime he picked up his rifle, his anxiety went away, and he became the calmest of all of them.

5598 and 6116 followed 5597, creeping through the pods the one near the end, the one with the faulty latch. Privately, 5597 was a little worried about them fitting. These nightly excursions were becoming rarer, and they had all undergone growth spurts as they hit six years old, growing lanky and awkward.

5598 was up ahead of them, and 5597 looked back at 6116 to whisper, “Hurry up!”

6116 twisted to look back at him, nervousness crossing his face. “I was just watching behind,” he defended as he picked up the pace to catch up with 5597. 6116 was so serious, sometimes 5597 wondered if he knew how to smile. But he’d already lost his initial batch, so 5597 understood, a bit. Astra had lost Doubles, and they’d all taken his loss hard. A training accident had been the story they were given.

There were a lot of training accidents on Kamino, especially involving those who brandished their names too loudly or defied the longnecks.

5597 reached out to pat his brother on the back, and 6116’s face eased before they both jogged over to 5598, who threw open the door so they could all hurry in and shut the door. 5597 pulled out his datapad, slicing into the flight sims controller, and then leaned forward, taking ahold of the controls. His brothers squeezed in behind the pilots chair, their eyes going wide as the cockpit screens blossomed into a view of an icy planet surrounded by rings.

Nalaos III. “We’re going to fly here for real one day,” he said, nosing the simulated fighter over into a dive, weaving through the asteroid field. The sims were soundproof, so they whooped and yelled as 5597 made tighter and tighter turns, leading enemy fighters into perilous rock fields, and 5597 let a grin cover his face.

They could tell him he couldn’t be a pilot all they wanted, but  _ he _ knew what he was capable of.

5597 laughed as he directed his fighter between two colliding rocks, timing it perfectly so the enemy fighter was smashed behind him. His brothers chattered behind him excitedly, especially 5598. 6116 was alternating between his medical manuals and watching 5597. 5598 had no reservations, and was cheering and throwing his hands in the air with every trick and turn.

And then the moment they had been waiting for: the last fighter was destroyed, and for half a minute while the sim calculated scores and errors, they drifted. 5597 sat back, his eyes wide as for a few seconds he could fly slow, watching the suns rays slide over the planet’s surface, brightening more and more with each heartbeat.

But all too quickly, it was over, and 5597 picked up his datapad to download the data and then wipe all traces of the trial from the Kaminoan systems. He grinned to himself as he noted his scores: among the best for the Nalaos III test.

“You should have been a pilot,” 5598 said, shaking his head as he looked over 5597’s shoulder.

“97 could be Sergeant though,” 6116 pointed out. “That’s the last big qualifying test we all get.” He crossed his arms, looking irritated. “And it’s tomorrow morning. I  _ said _ we should have stayed in bed tonight.”

5598 rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but our show is on tonight.”

5597 grinned, but his smile hid his anxiety about tomorrow. He  _ was _ worried. But he wasn’t going to sleep tonight anyway, so he was going to distract himself with his brothers.

Missing 5597’s reaction, 6116 looked exasperated but didn’t argue. Their illicit holonet show viewings were something he enjoyed, even if he wouldn’t admit it. The latest one they'd been watching was  _ Jesse and the Merry Brigands _ . 

5597 adopted an innocent expression, hoping into the conversation. “I mean, we could just go now. That’d be more sleep. I know you weren’t waiting for the next episode.”

“I- No!” 6116 protested. “We’re here, we’re watching it.”

5598 and 5597 exchanged grins. The last show had ended on a cliffhanger, and had featured the crew getting separated from their captain, Jesse, while the titular character was forced to work with the lawman whom he had a romance subplot with. The last episode had ended with Jesse and the lawman nearly confessing their feelings, and the crew arriving at the entrance of the cave system they’d been trapped in.

Even just as the theme music started, the three boys were on the edge of their seats, grinning with anticipation.They huddled closer as the cockpit view screens turned into their holovid. 5597 couldn't quite hide a happy sigh as Jesse and the lawman finally confessed their feelings for each other, after months of pining. 5598 and 6116 snickered, both of them elbowing him, and 5597 flushed awkwardly.

He knew it was just a story, but he was happy for the two men, even if they weren’t real. He wished he could be Jesse though.

With that thought haunting his mind, 5597 barely noticed the crew’s engineer, Kicks, saving the day and rescuing everyone as the final show in the season ended. The main character was like him: bitter and all too sharp but still idealistic and good. 5597 thought he could aspire to be like him, someday flying around and doing good.

“I want to be Jesse.” The words slipped out of his mouth, soft and quiet, but they still silenced the loud bickering behind him. His brothers stared at him, their eyes going wide as they looked from him to the credits rolling through the screens, and then 5598 exclaimed, “You found your name!”

Jesse shifted awkwardly and then nodded. “I think so. I mean. Yeah.” His shy smile turned into a beaming grin. He had a name. Jesse. It fit. His brothers clapped him on the shoulders, moving around the cockpit and trying to hug him. “It’s good. I’m glad,” 6116 announced, trying to look appropriately serious.

5598 turned his head slightly, an odd gleam in his eyes. “You’re nearly as serious as Kicks,” he pointed out dryly, referring to the shows engineer.

6116 stared at him, something ticking over in his mind, and then he said, “Maybe I am.” He tilted his head slightly. “ _ I’m _ not a complete copycat thought. I’m spelling it K-I-X.”

“You’re a complete clone,” Jesse said flatly, and 5598 howled with laughter as Kix tried to refute his statement before giving up and sighing. Jesse was right and he knew it.

Kix tried valiantly to change the subject, and said, “Just you then, 98. And 5600.”

“It’ll come,” 5598 said confidently. He leaned back, looking thoughtful but still satisfied. “It just has to be right. And 5600 will get his, too. He’s just worried he might not like it later.”

Jesse nodded, and then looked back down at his datapad, deleting all evidence they’d been there. Kix jiggled open the faulty latch, letting the trio out, and they picked up Hack and 5600 on their way back as well.

Hack would have whooped on their way back had they not been trying to get caught as Jesse and Kix introduced their names, while 5600 softly whispered his congratulations. They giggled quietly as they all climbed up into their bunks, and feeling like everything was alright, just for a few moments, Jesse dropped off to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> This might turn into a longer fic, with more stand alone chapters about Astra Squad pre-Geonosis.


End file.
